Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 188 — ‘The Ewing Connection’

No matter how many times I see the “Dallas” characters come together during a medical crisis, it never seems to lose its dramatic punch. In “The Ewing Connection,” John Ross’s appendicitis produces one chills-inducing scene after another: Miss Ellie rushing upstairs after hearing the little boy screaming in pain, Ray bursting through the emergency room doors carrying the child’s limp body, J.R. dropping everything at the office when he receives the call informing him his son is sick. These moments underscore the ties that bind this family, reminding us that despite all their bickering, the Ewings genuinely care about each other.

John Ross’s illness also provides “Dallas” with an opportunity send Sue Ellen on what will become one of her final benders. Linda Gray’s character demonstrates surprising strength throughout the eighth season, continually resisting the urge to drink as her marriage unravels for the umpteenth time. “The Ewing Connection” even takes a few moments to celebrate Sue Ellen’s success in the scene where she attends group therapy and tearfully describes how she stayed on the wagon despite another nasty spat with J.R. Gray’s performance during the therapy scene is beautiful and moving, allowing us to feel proud of Sue Ellen not only for staying sober, but also for having the courage to share the experience with a roomful of strangers. This is what makes the episode’s ending so heartbreaking. After J.R. lashes out at her because she wasn’t with John Ross when he got sick, Sue Ellen picks up a glass of bourbon, tentatively brings it to her lips and finally gulps it down.

Sue Ellen’s downfall raises a few questions that aren’t easily answered. First, is J.R. right when he says she should have stayed home with John Ross? The script has the child’s illness play out gradually. He begins complaining about having a stomachache at breakfast, so Sue Ellen says he should stay home from school. Later, John Ross tells her he’s feeling better, so she decides to not take him to the doctor, saying he can spend the rest of the day in bed. She also points out that Miss Ellie will be around if he needs anything. Sue Ellen then goes to her group and returns home that evening toting a couple of shopping bags, explaining that she decided to buy herself a few things after her therapy session. This is when J.R. tells her John Ross’s appendix almost ruptured, calls her an unfit mother and storms off, leaving her alone to drink. Is J.R. unnecessarily cruel? Yes, but does he have a point about her parental judgment? Or is it unfair to blame Sue Ellen for something she couldn’t control?

This brings us to another point that’s open to interpretation. When Sue Ellen arrives home, J.R. is fixing a drink in the living room. He breaks the news about John Ross as only he can (“While you were out seeking help for your psyche and boosting the economy of the more fashionable boutiques of Dallas, your son was being rushed into surgery”) and she tries to defend herself, saying John Ross seemed fine when she left. The spouses move from the living room to the foyer, and as he calls her “a totally unfit mother,” he sets down the drink and marches upstairs. The question is: Why doesn’t J.R. take his drink with him? Does he leave it behind because he’s too angry to think straight? Or does he set down the glass, hoping Sue Ellen will drink it? Did he pour it for her in the first place? Is J.R. hoping she’ll relapse so he can divorce her, gain custody of John Ross and be free to pursue Mandy Winger?

Besides Sue Ellen’s relapse, “The Ewing Connection” includes two other moments of consequence: Donna learns she’s pregnant (Susan Howard does a nice job conveying her character’s mixed emotions in this scene), and J.R. and Bobby sign over 10 percent of Ewing Oil to their newly discovered cousin Jack in exchange for his promise to prove Cliff and Jamie have no ownership claim on the company. This is another example of one of my least favorite “Dallas” tropes from the later years, when the characters exchange stakes in this multi-billion-dollar company the way kids once traded baseball cards in schoolyards. Mercifully, Bobby persuades J.R. that the two of them should each give up 5 percent instead of asking the other shareholders (Miss Ellie, Gary and Ray) to sacrifice a portion of their shares. It doesn’t make much sense, but at least the math is easy to follow.

Finally, “The Ewing Connection” gives us two reunions, beginning with Lucy and Mitch’s appropriately awkward dinner in Atlanta. The characters make meaningless small talk, although one line of dialogue feels weightier now than it did when this episode debuted three decades ago. Lucy asks Mitch about his mother and sister; Mitch responds both are doing fine, which doesn’t tell the whole story, at least where Afton is concerned. Given what we now know about Audrey Landers’ character’s timeline, she was probably getting ready to give birth to her secret daughter Pamela Rebecca Cooper around this time. Maybe Mitch decides not to tell Lucy because he’s afraid she’ll go home and blab the news to everyone, which actually seems pretty likely when you stop and think about it.

The more meaningful reunion comes when Bobby and Pam spend an evening reminiscing about their marriage, sealing the conversation with a brief kiss. The producers wisely keep Priscilla Beaulieu Presley out of this episode, giving Bobby and Pam the room they need to begin finding their way back to each other. The kiss also foreshadows the characters’ reconciliation in the eighth-season finale, “Swan Song.” In fact, there’s a lot about “The Ewing Connection” that reminds me of that episode. The scene where J.R. rushes out of the room after receiving the call about John Ross is similar to the “Swan Song” moment in which J.R. gets the call that Bobby’s been hurt, and Howard Keel seems to sport the same shirt and jacket in both episodes. Likewise, when Sue Ellen comes home with her shopping bags, it’s not unlike the ninth-season scene in which she strolls into the living room, blissfully unaware that Bobby has died.

I know, I know. I’m getting ahead of myself again. What can I say? If “The Ewing Connection” is a trial run for “Swan Song,” then I’m more ready than ever to see the real thing.

Comments

Great critique CB. In regards to JR putting the glass of liquor down, I think he was hoping that Sue Ellen would drink it as a means to get her “off the wagon” again so he can file for a divorce, get John Ross and be with Many. Did you remember what he did in Season 3 with Kristin’s help to make people believe she was drinking again, JR can be real cruel!!!! It was so sad to see her gulp that drink after staying sober for so long, Sue Ellen was never too confident in herself as a woman and a mother so anything that happens to make her doubt herself can lead her to drink and JR knows that. It was not her fault John Ross was sick he told her he was feeling better and she did say if he was not feeling good later she was going to call the doctor and she left him in care of his grandmother. Also who is to say that before he got sick and was in pain she did not call to check upon him. At last the moment I was waiting for the kiss shared between Pam and Bobby although brief was worth it!!!! Oh Jenna your dream of marriage to Bob is crumbling . .

I enjoyed your review as always, Chris! As for the question about Sue Ellen being to blame or not to blame for what happened to John Ross, I believe any parent here among us will agree that, no matter how caring and careful you are about your child’s health, there are situations you just cannot control. Sue Ellen took her son’s stomachache seriously enough to let him stay in bed for the day, and she left him knowing Miss Ellie and Clayton would be there to look after him – in what better hands could the boy have been? How was Sue Ellen supposed to know the stomachache would turn into appendicitis? Sue Ellen acted as a caring and responsible mother – even JR knew that deep down. He just had to lash out at her, for his own reasons. And I am certain he put the glass down with the purpose to make her start drinking again.

I’m not a parent, so I appreciate your point of view, Balena. I agree Sue Ellen isn’t to blame, and I think you’re probably right about J.R. setting down the glass intentionally. He can be a real bastard, can’t he?

I don’t think Husband J.R. deliberately put the glass of bourbon down IV Miss Texas to drink Christopher Barnes Ewing Decoder DALLAS Extraordinaire Summarizer Commentator. I counted 44 episodes up until this point wherein he pours himself a drink or is poured a different drink at a bar venue or a private residence or at Ewing offices or another office & either doesn’t pick up the glass or picks it up w/o taking a sip, then puts it down & walks away!

But him giving Miss Texas heck for not being with John Ross is inexcusable in the context that others in the home had the Ewing auto fleet, the Southfork Chopper, & even the Ewing Jet at their disposal to take John Ross &/or any other family member to any medical facility they might need 24/7! As a result, I’d say J.R.’s tirade was ridiculous & frankly rude.

My name is getting longer! Thanks for throwing the “Extraordinaire” in there.

Did you really count 44 instances of J.R. setting down a drink? Because I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s accurate. The Ewings do have a habit of not finishing drinks (or the food on their plates during meal scenes).

Another great review! Oh I think JR, the master manipulator, knows exactly what he is doing to Sue Ellen. He lashes out at her first, then tells her about John Ross. He might as well put the glass in her hand at that point!

Now I’m going to get ahead of myself here too! We all know that Jack Ewing is here to replace Bobby. I wonder why they didn’t go all in and pair up Pam and Jack. We could have had a season of will they or won’t they. Pam mistaking Jack for Bobby in the half light at Ewing Oil. We could have seen a real Barnes/Ewing Ewing/Barnes feud. Pam fighting JR at Ewing Oil. Jack fighting Cliff over the way he treats Jamie. Another Ewing beau of Jenna’s would be taken way by Pam! No need to bring Mark back from the dead. Then we could have had a season of doubts. Does Pam love Jack or does he just remind her of Bobby? Does Jack love Pam or does he just want to get control of Christopher’s shares?
I know it’s a stretch but we all know why Jack was invented and it might have been fun to watch because the situation creates so many possibilities. Pairing Jack with Jenna really reduced him to the level of a second stringer on the show, kind of like putting Pam with Mark always seemed to reduce her role in the main action. Oh well, just a thought.

I agree with you, Nick. I like the idea of a Jack/Pam pairing. Something tells me Dack Rambo and Victoria Principal would have had smoking chemistry, and a romance between those characters could have kept her tied to the Ewing family. Too bad it didn’t happen.

It is interesting reading all these threads, decades later of peoples opinions on what they liked in the show. The thought of Pam with jack has me cringing, I thought he was well suited for jenna personally (neither character’s deserve a capital i.m.h.o). Other than Ray and Donna, Pam and Mark were the saving grace and only bright spark of the whole dream season as far as I’m concerned (and of course Miss Ellie having her rightful head and smocks back again). But in this episode we are discussing here, was it just me or could anyone else fathom why Mitch seemed so aloof or disinterested or out of character in this scene or was it Leigh wondering what on earth was going on here?